Daybreak
by Kandraki
Summary: Huntsman can only do so much to protect Remnant. So when a new faction comes into the scene, will they be accepted? Or will they become pariahs comparable to the White Fang? Even in the darkest of times, dawn will always come. Rated M for language and adult themes. Rewiews and constructive critisism are always welcome. Enjoy!
1. Prologue- We Did It Before It Was Cool!

The city of Vale.

A safe haven of humanity against the Creatures of Grimm.

But how safe could such a place truly be against those who profit on chaos and discord?

The liars? The theives? The rapists and muderers? Those who could stand to gain from another war?

How could humanity stand together with so many factors against them in the first place?

All flames, even the brightest, will eventually flicker and die in he harsh winds of night.

And just as there is the guarantee of darkness during night, there is the guarantee of shining light from the day

For all the darkness, light will always be there to illuminate the world.

Dawn will always come.

* * *

"Come on, boys. The bosses will have our heads if we don't hurry up," the unnamed grunt urged his fellow henchmen.

The "Henchmen" were all dressed similarly, with black suits, red ties and sunglasses, and basic black top hats, other than the occasional grunt with facial hair it was difficult to tell them appart. In fact, their current employer had assigned them numbers to keep up with all of them. Whether this was their boss being lazy, or just a jackass, they were unsure.

"Yeah, yeah," Number 3 griped. "You're just a lookout, 'Number 8,' so quit complainin' or get over here and help."

"No thanks," Number 8 denied. "The Dust is all yours to take care of."

"Lazy bastard," was the concensus of the group.

"Damn right," Number 8 smugly confirmed leaning against the wall of the dock warehouse they were raiding. "I get to relax and and watch you guys do all th-" He was cut off.

"Eh? What was that 8?" 3 turned back to where their sentry was lazing around at. "8?.. 8!?" His shouts attracted the attention of the rest of the guards. Weapons were drawn as soon as they realized he was gone. Their calls of "What the hell?" and "Where did he go?" rang out as they tried to located their MIA. That was.. until his body impacted against one of the large, steel containers they were looting.

All eyes were on the unconscious henchman until the sound of someone landing on pavement turned their attention back to the spot 8 was originally standing. They were greeted by the sight of a cloaked person just staring at them, their eyes hidden by the black and red bamboo hat they wore, which featured red cloth strips acting as a curtain to further protect the wearers identity. The unidentified person wore a black full-body robe with a thin red stripe down the middle. An orange sash adorned the waist and black and red combat boots fit snug on their feet, with what was visible of his hands having red combat gloves with metal plates on the back of them.

However the hired help barely noticed anything other than his cloak and hat, those had all the effect they were supposed to on the henchmen. Fear.

For the person in front of them was none other than a member of Daybreak, or a very good impersonator. Though that didn't seem to do anything to quell the theives.

Daybreak was to be feared by people of their certain profession. And for good reason. Daybreak was an independent faction that opposed crime and terrorism, and actively sought peace between all the factions of Remnant. They began to pop up after the fall of the original White Fang, whose main goal was peacefully acquiring equal rights for the Faunus race after the Great War. After the old, peace loving Fang was gone and a new commander had taken over, the White Fang became increasingly aggressive, committing more and more crimes in the name of "peace and justice" until they outright started to murder innocents to get their points across. They weren't afraid to use deadly force, and were subsequently labeled a terrorist sect not long after.

Members of Daybreak were few and far between, however, with only eight people being active agents. The members identities were always hidden by the bulky garments. In addition, their iconic hats they bore never came off in public, making it impossible to determine who they were. The only system of identification that set each member apart was the color of the sash they wore on their waists. Red, White, Blue, Orange, Purple, Brown, Green and Black being the only way to tell each other apart. Also the codenames they addressed each other on occasion:

Red, known as Dreamer. White, known as Angel. Blue, Rain. Orange, Fox. Purple, Archer. Brown, Raccoon. Green, Knight. And finally, Black, known as Samurai.

Based on the sash of the member in front of the black suited guards, they were dealing with Fox, who was notorious for his extreme close combat techniques and the unpredictable nature of his fighting style. It was also worth noting that he had an unparalleled control over his Aura, being seen shaping it and manipulating it outside of his body many times.

"Yo!" Fox's boisterous greeting snapped the henchmen out of their thoughts, cutting through all the tension that had been growing. "How's it going, guys?"

The assorted hired help couldn't help but deadpan. Fox was know for his brash and carefree attitude, only getting serious when the situation called for it, but hearing and seeing it put into action in a shipping yard full of enemies was slightly off-putting.

"Er... Good.. I guess..?" The grunt designated by their current employer as Number 1 answered. "Uh... How 'bout you?"

"Oh you know, just taking a stroll through this beautiful night when I happened across all this," Fox answered casually, gesturing to the criminal activity all around him while taking small steps forward, looking around before focusing his gaze on 1. "Y'know, the usual vigilante stuff."

"...Okaaay..?"

"Mmhhhm." His carefree smile never leaving his face.

"Sooo.. any chance we won't be in jail by morning..?"

"Probably not." Fists gripped tighter on the assorted weapons the group of theives had armed themselves with.

"Right."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, it's all thirty of us against only you!" A brave (read; stupid) henchmen, designated as Number 23, shouted out. This seemed to bolster some of the others, but most of them were still cowed by the smile that never faltered on Fox's face.

"Mah, mah.. is it really just me though..?" Fox's somewhat lazy response trailed off, letting their minds all come to the same thought.

 _Daybreak members always traveled in pairs._

At that moment several henchmen not standing near any Dust crates were hit from behind with black projectiles, which exploded on impact, sending the large group of menial laborers scattering. Several orders rung out but we're quickly drowned out by yelps and screams of surprise, and pain in the case of the henchmen hit from behind.

Behind the mass of scampering thugs, another figure appeared from behind the cover they had taken while Fox had distracted the rather dim group. Wearing the same get up as Fox, minus the orange sash as the newcomers was purple, ID'ing him as Archer, the partners cut a rather imposing presence.

As Archer had the thugs' attention, Fox shot forward dispatching an enemy with a well placed drop kick to the face, he quickly planted his hands on the ground and twisted his legs to catch the falling thug and toss him into another.

By then the hired muscle had figured out what had happened and had split their forces to focus on the Daybreak members.

Archer dodged behind a Dust container as automatic fire rained down on him, pinning him behind the bulky steel box. Archer grit his teeth as bullets pinged off his cover. "Hey, Fox! Wanna give me a hand here," calling out in distress.

Fox, hearing his partners cries for help, smirked. "I dunno, Archer, are you sure your pride will be able to handle assistance from someone so lowly as me?" He replied as he decked another thug in the face before dodging an axe swing aiming to bisect him. As the doubled bladed instrument of war sunk into the pavement next to him, he took advantage of his opponent's vulnerable position by rolling over him. Reaching into his robes he grabbed a black rod with empty circles on each of its ends. Twirling it the rod expanded to a full size staff a little bigger than Fox's height and on its final rotation it smashed into the back of the head of the bent over thug, putting the man out of business.

"Just fucking help me!" Archer answered hotly.

"No need to get all riled up!" Fox replied as his form began glowing a golden-orange color. Two giant clawed arms shot out of his back and with ease he swept aside all the henchmen firing on the container Archer was hiding behind.

Hearing the staccato stop, Archer leapt over the steel crate, weapon in hand. The aforementioned weapon was a staff, like his partners, with a crescent-like piece at each end. Drawn tight between both crescents were two strengthened strings, which he drew back. As the bow-staff was drawn taut by Archer several black arrows formed. Without hesitation the arrows were sent screaming at the biggest concentration of thugs. Each exploded with concussive force as they met their marks, sending henchmen flying away.

Fox whistled appreciatively as about ten of the hired help were disposed of.

 _Looks like I gotta do something badass to keep up,_ Fox thought as his Aura arms slammed down on the concrete ground, sending most of the assortment of enemies stumbling. Swinging his staff at one of the thugs unfortunate to have stumbled too close, one of the sun like hollow circles snapped open before closing abruptly around the poor thug's neck.

"Sorry 'bout this," Fox apologized semi-sincerely, "but you _should_ live though this... Maybe."

The red and black clad criminal had enough sense to grab onto the staff that had constricted around his neck, because the next thing he knew, he was spinning.

Twirling the staff, and by proxy, the poor man on the other end, Fox used the thug to bludgeon and sweep away a few of the man's comrades, before unlocking the device around said criminals neck. The result was a man shaped bowling ball plowing through the pins that were his allies.

"Not as badass, but still pretty cool," Fox admitted to himself.

"Blech."

"Oh good, you lived." Also he made the man puke on some of his friends.

Bonus points.

Meanwhile, Archer had taken out another two thugs and was in the middle of sweeping the legs out from under a third. The sunglasses wearing criminal slammed face first into the cruel, unforgiving concrete, putting him down for the rest of the fight.

"RAAGHHH!"

A battle cry sounded out behind him as he blocked three red blades with Yin. The three men managed to force the purple sashed warrior to his knees. Just as the would-be Dust theives thought they had a chance, Fox sent another man flying into one of them with a twirl of his peculiar staff.

Seeing his chance, Archer pulled back, disengaging from his opponents' blades. As the henchmen stumbled foward, Archer undid the strings on his bow-staff with speed and precision that took years to accomplish and pulled his weapon apart at the middle, revealing twin swords that had been sheathed in each other.

Archer quickly re-engaged the men, taking advantage of their off balanced stances and put each one out of the fight with a single precise slash each. The other two on the ground attempted to get up, but quickly were met with the displeasure of having Yins' crescent end pieces smash into their skulls.

Noting that he had run out of minions to thrash, Archer stood content to watch Fox deal with the remaining four still standing.

Which he did with a few smashing twirls of his staff, named Yang.

The partners stood at ease, looking over the small battlefield they had made, they both could hear police sirens in the background, still decently far but, getting closer by the minute.

"Well... That was a little boring..." Fox sighed.

"What did you expect from a bunch of peons, idiot?" Came the expected response.

"I dunno, I was hoping to get a crack at their boss!" Fox exclaimed, a little frustrated with the no-show of what he was sure would have been a fun fight. "Who even lets their minions operate alone!? That's some bad villainry if you ask me!"

"Good thing no one asked you then," Archer's calm rebuttal came.

"Come on, you're not even a little dissapointed that their leader was a no show?"

"...Maybe a little."

"Ha! See!? A case of bad villainry."

"That's not even a real word, dumbass."

"Don't care, that's how bad it is."

Archer just sighed as he began walking to the exit gate of the shipping yard. "Come on, let's get out of here before the cops get here."

"Gunna make myself a big bowl of ramen when we get back!" Fox cheered as he strode to catch up to his partner.

* * *

A fully showered, casually dressed Archer sighed as he sat down on the nice, black leather couch in the living room of their hideout. He could still hear Fox, working on making his 'Victory Ramen' as he would call it, in the kitchen.

"Last chance, Sasuke! You want some or not!?" Fox called from the kitchen.

The now named Sasuke grunted. He was hungry, but he didn't want to cook anything tonight. "You know what I like in my ramen, Naruto."

"Right!" Naruto replied enthusiastically, "One tomato ramen with extra beef! Comin' right up!"

Sasuke felt himself sigh once more, he would never be able to understand how Naruto could remain so energetic and cheerful. It was somewhat annoying if he was being honest with himself, but that's who Naruto was.

Sasuke's onyx eyes roamed over the decent sized coffee table in front of him. More importantly, they stopped on two letters on the table, addressed to the two of them. One of the other Daybreak members must have brought in the mail when they stopped by while the two of them were out.

Each letter was made out to one 'Mr. Sasuke Uchiha' and the other to one 'Mr. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.' It was the sender that made him pause before grinning.

'Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy'

"Hey, 'Ruto, get in here..."


	2. Little Red Riding HoodBig Bad Fox

**Chapter One: Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Fox**

* * *

Morning time in Vale came as anyone would expect it to on a mid-summer day. The new day sunlight was already warm and the sky was a bright orange. The birds were singing their songs as morning traffic was already under way, the pedestrians and Huntsman who called Vale home trying to make it to work on time. Everyone was getting into gear for the day to come.

Well, most people at least.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds of the room, illuminating it for any who could be inside. The walls were a bright, almost blindingly so, orange with the odd poster hanging here and there. The most prominant of these being an image of, all things, a giant bowl of ramen. From the words printed near the bottom of the paper it had been won by conquering A Simple Wok's "Ultimate Noodle Challenge!" A picture of the old man, that ran the noodle shop, with the winner hung at the bottom of the poster, both of the posing happily for the camera.

Clothes were scattered messily across the wooden floor, the owner either being too lazy or too busy to pick them up. A pair of black, open toe sandles sat beneath the door, casually discarded by the tired wearer. On said door hung a large, extremely orange, high collared overcoat, the insides being made of what seemed to be black silk for a comfy fit. The back and shoulders of the coat bore the symbol of it's owner, a simple red spiral.

The furniture of the room was rather limited and basic, with only a wooden dresser and bed side table. The bed frame was red painted metal considering the owners haphazard treatment of his belongings.

The nightstand was sparse, only baring a common digital alarm clock, and a metal lamp. His staff, Yang, was leaned against the stand, discarded after yet another night brawl.

As for the owner of the room?

He was lightly snoring, sprawled across his bed, eagle formation, a relativly peaceful look on his whiskered face.

Until the sunlight decided he had enough rest.

The blond teen twitched slighty as the light creeped over his closed eyes, an annoyed expression took control of his facial features. Tossing and turning a bit more, the young man finally came out of dreamland, grumbling as he did so. Covering his slit-like eyes with a clawed hand, as to protect them from the harsh light of day, said eyes cracked open slightly, their piercing blue glare could defy the sun itself as he yawned, his fox like ears drooping to lay horizontally to his head. Unlike most Faunus his animal ears weren't on top of his head. They sat where a normal humans' ears would, with the ability to rotate in their sockets his ears making them slightly superior to most Faunus' and humans ears.

Sitting up he checked the clock beside him finding, to his dismay, that it was a horrid 6:14 AM.

"Ugghhh..."

Oh well, he was already up.

Clad in only a pair of pink boxers with white hearts, he begrudgingly got up, gripping the rather spartan dresser as he stretched, loosening his muscles for the day yet to come, sun-kissed skin shining under the light filtering through his window. His body was well defined and not overly bulky in the muscle department, with the muscle mass he had developed over the years being the type that just screamed 'Hit me, I can take whatever you can dish out!' Multiple scars littered the landscape that was his body, all reminders of times he had gotten himself head over heels into a fight. The most prominant was a stretch of scar that ran diagonally across his right abdominals, ending within the V that formed above his groin.

Opening the top drawer, he grabbed the closest pair of boxers and shorts before making his way to the door, grabbing a used red wife-beater off the ground before almost tripping over some of the clothing that littered the floor, only to stumble over something long and fluffy.

Growling in slight irratation, Naruto propped himself up as he grabbed the offending appendage. His tail.

"It's too early in the morning for this shit, tail."

Said golden length of fluff continued to lazily sweep back and forth in his hand, mocking him. As much as he loved his tail, its' soft and well groomed fur being one of his few prides, the damn thing seemed to do whatevrer it desired outside of battle. Whether it be knocking something over or tripping him, or other people, on occasion the damn thing had a mind of its' own. It also didn't help that his tail was abnormally long, stretching to a whopping four feet, it was rather difficult to avoid it at times.

"Whatever."

Scampering to his feet he kicked his sandels out of the way of the door and opened the wooden portal. Stepping into the bare hallway, he turned on his heel and walked to the end, passing several white folding closet doors as he did so, stopping at the only other bedroom door in the hallway. His fist curled as he slammed the door with it.

"Wake up, jackass" Naruto shouted, "We got shit to do today!"

Hearing a groan from the other side, he continued his short trek to the bathroom, intent on claiming the first shower.

* * *

Sasuke's single coal like eye glared burning death at his bedroom door. Like usual his gibbering, blond fool of a friend managed to ruin what he thought would be a decent nights rest. He swore that Naruto had made some sort of oath to end any good dreams or nights he had had or will ever have in his life.

Meanwhile, in the shower Naruto violently sneezed.

Back in the bedroom, Sasuke was methodically rummaging through his memories, trying to remember what he could have done to acquire his partners eternal wrath.

 _It couldn't have been the time I tried to pull a 'revenge prank' on his dumb ass while he was sleeping and ended up ruining his old coat_ , he attempted to reassured himself. _Naruto wouldn't be so petty, would he?_

No, it couldn't be that.. could it?

Sasuke jumped slightly as the echo of a rather loud sneeze came from the hallway, drowned out a little by the sound of the running shower. A cry of pain soon followed as did the sounds of multiple objects crashing to the ground.

 _Whatever. It's not worth the headache._

Reaching over to his bedside desk he snatched a black eyepatch off the corner. The eyepiece was designed and customized by its wearer to suit his needs, with three thick armoured bands stretching out from the cover connected to the armour plate which protected his empty socket. Complete with a red and white fan on the flat dark metal. He kept it off at night mainly because his idiot of a roommate claimed that mushrooms would grow in the concave space if he didn't air it out on occasion. Whether of not Naruto was screwing with him he didn't know, but that moronic fox had made him slightly paranoid, so he kept it off at night more out of fear induced caution than actual reason.

Slipping the eyepatch over his empty left socket he covered up his deformity, or at least most of it. He had a wicked, vertical scar that covered most of the left side of his face, barely missing the temple and running down his face past his cheek, the raw pinkish scar tissue reaching the top most part of his neck.

His eternal memento of **that** day, forever branded on his face for the world to see.

Sasuke sighed as several memories surfaced in his mind, his scar unpleasantly tingling. It had been fours years since he had gotten this scar, and had yet to have any semblance of retribution against the man who had given it to him.

In fact, if not for his partner, as much of an idiot as he was, Sasuke knew he would walk a much different route in life. One full of hatred and misery, where he would squander all he had just to kill a single man. He would never have had a chance to do anything good, to attend Beacon, acquire the friends he had or even one day meet any kind of significant other.

It was all thanks to Naruto, who pulled him out of his own self infected misery, by doing the only thing he knew how.

He beat the righteous shit out of Sasuke.

Of course, Sasuke kind of deserved it. Being an antagonist (read; asshole) only got one so far before some type of justified fury came down on them. Being bitter, and sometimes outright agressive, to everyone around them had worn down Naruto's already limited patience, and one day he had called Sasuke out on his attitude. Of course, Sasuke being a prideful jackass had responded with anger, throwing the first punch of the fight.

Only for Naruto to catch it.

Yep, Sasuke was certain he still had ghost pains from that one-sided beat down. Ten broken fingers, six broken ribs, four snapped toes, two shattered arms, a broken leg and a crumpled nose later and Sasuke had wished he had never been born.

Naruto refused to let him live that fight down. Mainly to keep his pride in check.

After the fight, Sasuke had been sentenced to twelve weeks in the hospital, a week of that being spent in intensive care. Of course, Naruto wasn't done with him, three weeks into his stay at the hospital Sasuke was visited by our beloved blond. Naruto had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep Sasuke from immediately screaming for security. His reason for visiting out of the blue? He wanted to be friends of all things! Friends!

Sasuke snorted his bemusement, recalling how his younger self shot Naruto's olive branch out of the air. With a flamethrower.

Naturally, Naruto being Naruto, he never learned how to take a 'no' from someone and proceeded to bother Sasuke for the next five weeks. Eventually, Sasuke broke under the constant babbling of the blond faunus and agreed to try to be his friend as long as it shut the idiot up.

It didn't.

On his next visit, Naruto brought a worn chess set, saying that his father had lent it to him for the day. They spent the rest of that afternoon attempting to outsmart one another, only to end up tying with four wins to the both of the players. Sasuke had an advantage with his more logical and strategic mind, but damn him if he couldn't admit that Naruto's strategies were infuraitingly random and unpredictable. One move and Sasuke would claim the opposing queen, the next Naruto would move a seemingly randomly placed peice and have Sasuke's king in check. It was a neverending cycle of chaos, trying to think his way through Naruto's 'strategies'.

From that day on to the end of Sasuke's stay at the hospital, they would attempt to gain the lead over each other in chess. Eventually it extended to other activities such as a simple race on occasion to more extreme competitions like Grifball. That was a fun day.

To this day, after four years of trying to one-up the other, the score sat at 481-481.

Following his release from his imprisonment at the hospital, Naruto had invited him to dinner at his parents. Said dinner had forever endeared Sasuke in the eyes of Minato and Kushina, considering that he was Naruto's first true friend he had become a pseudo-son to the both of them and soon after a brother in Naruto's eyes. He spent the remainder of his childhood with Naruto and his parents, rarely spending time alone at home due to his brother and cousin being away training at Beacon themselves.

But those days were another story for a different time.

Sitting up, he moaned in satisfaction as he twisted his back receiving a 'crrrikkk', only to be dissapointed as he attempted to replicate the effect as he twisted the opposite way, not receiving anything.

Escaping from his covers, he placed his feet on the cold floor while he reached for the t-shirt he had placed on his desk for the morning. The simple black shit with his families fan symbol slipped over his head, hiding his chest from view as it fell into place, hiding the pale skin he had shown in his sleep.

His stomach growled. Good thing he always took a shower before bed cuz he was hungry and Naruto always took forever grooming that accursed tail of his after his bathing sessions.

Opening his door he made his way to the other end of the appartment and the kitchen.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't use Yin and Yang?!" Naruto's rather loud complaint caught the attention of a few people on the streets around them as the two Daybreak members made their way into downtown Vale, dressed in their street clothes.

"Hn... Well for one keep your damn voice down, and two.." Sasuke began, only to lower his voice, "Yin and Yang would be recognized immediately by anyone with half a brain. It would be best to find temporary replacements."

Naruto pouted like a child who had their favorite toy taken away. Not that there was much of a difference between the two situations.

"But Yang is my baby!"

"And Yin is equally important to me."

Naruto huffed, his ears and tail twitching in irratation. The idea of a replacement weapon didn't sit well with him. Yang was his pride and joy, a peice of himself that he had built by hand and, as such, wielding something other than Yang just didn't feel right.

But Sasuke was right, _Like usual_ , Naruto begrudgingly admitted to himself. If he used Yang in public he would either be investigated on suspicion of being Fox, or he would be labelled a copycat fighter, though he would bet on the former situation. Especially since everyone from Daybreaks' more loyal fans to rather absurd conspiracy theorists kept careful track of their public appearances on Remnants online world. The militaries of the four kingdoms kept records on the fighting styles to the weapons to even the semblances that the vigilante group had shown to the world. They only knew of these well kept files thanks to one of their undercover agents inside of the Atlesiean government.

"Fine, but don't think for a second that-"

"-The attack happened last Thursday, resulting in the theft of almost half a million lien worth of Dust, and half of the SDC train," The news anchor woman reported as Sasuke and Naruto stopped walking to listen to the TV, which was placed in the front of a nearby electronics store. "Thankfully, no casualties have been reported, which is unusual behavior for the White Fang. No comments have been issued by the Schnee Dust Company. And now to my fellow reporter and our local man in the field, Cyril Ian. Cyril?"

The scenery on the camera changed to a familiar backdrop, a man who must have been Cyril Ian stood in front of the camera. "Thanks, Lisa. Two nights ago the shipping yard behind us was a battleground. An unidentified gang was in the middle of a Dust heist, when they were interrupted by none other than two members of Daybreak. Luckily for us, several cameras managed to record the fight. A reminder to those watching from home that the content about to be shown may be too graphic for anyone under the age of 15, so please, viewer discretion has been advised. Roll the tape, please."

Naruto and Sasuke were treated to a third person view of them beating the crap out of the goons, and many of the people walking by stopped to watch as well. Many of them murmured excitedly, not many films of Daybreak agents were publicly broadcast. Normally, those that wanted to see the organization in action had to go online to watch pirated or leaked footage. Of course this footage was slightly doctored, with several scenes being taken out all together. Mainly the parts when Naruto bludgeoned a goon in a particularly brutal fashion, or when Sasuke cut open the two goons near the end. Had to keep it PG-13 somehow. As the fight came to a close several spectators cheered or whooped their support of the vigilante group.

"As of this morning, the Schnee Dust Company released this footage and an official thank you to the Daybreak Organization for their heroism. Back to you, Lisa."

"Thank you, Cyril, what a riveting story. In other news, a local nightclub known simply as The Club has received extensive damage due to a brawl that broke out late last night. No suspects have been named but it is thought-"

Naruto was dragged away before they could get too engrossed in the morning news. "Awwww come on, it was just getting interesting!"

"We'll catch up later, for now we have to get ready."

"Hmm, I forgot that you actually record the news for some reason."

"I like to be informed."

"Nerd."

"Just because I watch the news for information and not just the fights doesn't make me a nerd, dumbass."

"I guess you're right."

Sasuke smirked slightly, perhaps there _was_ some kind of hope for his-

"It makes you a _really_ big nerd!"

Sasuke's scowl deepened as his partners boisterous laughter echoed across the street.

* * *

Naruto was dangerously close to tearing his hair out. Nothing he found was close to matching his style of fighting. Sure there was that pair of shot gauntlets a while back that had caught his eye, mainly cuz they were orange, but they were part of the newest 'Flare' series and _really_ expensive. Of course he _could_ tap into the Daybreak account to help fund his purchase of the weapons, but then he would have Angel breathing down his neck, and as much as he loved that woman, she could be downright terrifying. Especially when members tapped into the account unnecessarily. He remembered when Knight had spent an entire salary getting hammered, then proceeded to buy himself and the whole bar a few drinks with Daybreak's funds. Oh man, he wasn't even the one being yelled at and chased around and he still cowered under the nearest cover he could find. He did **_not_** want to explain to her that he had spent a crap load of his money on ramen. Again.

Not like that was a waste to Naruto. It wasn't his fault that no one else seemed to believe his beloved noodles were a gift unto Remnant from the almighty Oum.

Fools, the lot of them.

"Hello, sir," A voice called to him from behind, "would you be interested in any assistance?"

Naruto turned around to find the voice belonged to a young Faunus, at least 2 years younger than himself, of the dog variety, if the floppy puppy ears on his head were any indication. He recognized the boy to be the son of the owner of the store he was currently standing in.

"Yeah actually," Naruto responded, reeling in any frustration he had, it wasn't the kids fault if he couldn't find any weaponry suited to his personal taste. Reaching into the front pocket of his shorts he grabbed a small item before presenting it to the tween. "If I could talk to your pops, that would be great."

Sitting in Naruto's outstretched palm sat a gold ring with a rather large purple gem with the word 'Sphere' present inside said gem. The rather strange part about the ring in front of him was the foreign symbol present above the English word.

玉.

The boy, named Set, gulped as he stared at the peice of jewelry being presented to him. He had seen others come and go in the shop who also had shown similar rings. All of them had VIP access to the prototypes and a rather generous discount on all things in the store.

"Y-yes, sir!" Set exclaimed, "I shall go alert my father to your presence, please stay right here!" Before he ran off to the back room.

"Hmmm..? Oookkaayy?" Naruto could only murmur as the kid bolted out of sight. "Nice kid, I suppose, bit too excitable though.." He mused to himself as he waited for Set to return.

Not noticing the hypocrisy of his words, he turned to look for Sasuke among the other patrons of the store. Not seeing his duck haired partner anywhere he began searching the racks around him once more.

A few more minutes passed as he futility raked his eyes over the assortment of firearms and blades nearest to him, before he heard quickened footfalls coming towards him. His eyes glued to the flustered dog faunus standing before him.

"D-dad will see you now, sorry for the wait sir!"

Chuckling to himself, he ruffled the younger boys brown hair affectionately, "No problem, junior. Thanks for the help!"

Leaving a red cheeked boy behind, he trekked to the back room of the arms store, hands crossed comfortably behind his head.

* * *

"Hnn..."

Sasuke hummed as he inspected the long dagger in front of him. A kunai if he remembered correctly. He had already flashed his ring to the old man who ran this weaponry superstore, and wasted no time going into the backroom to browse the experimental weaponry, and he was not dissapointed. It was a little thing of beauty, with four internal Dust containers, it could hold fire, wind, lightning and ice Dust. The foot long knife could spilt into two one sided knives with flat sides for guarding, and it had one more feature.

This absolutely astonishing piece of weaponry tech... could transform into a Dust pipe. Capable of mixing Dust and Aura in the welders lungs so the user could spit literal elemental storms at their opponents. Oh fuck yes!

He had been meaning to get a replacement pipe ever since the accident with his old one. He had used it so much that the Dust coils inside it had fried and detonated. Rain never let him live that down, as he had been sitting not even two feet from Sasuke at the time. Thankfully, Angel and Naruto never found out about it. Though he had to lay on as many bribes as he could so Rain wouldn't tell anyone.

But this was a weapon grade Dust knife pipe, unlike his old one which was a regular recreational grade pipe, so it was far more durable. His mind made up, Sasuke bagged the pipe, several assorted canisters of different Dust types and multiple replacement parts as well as a repair kit before heading out of the hidden room and to the front counter. A smile on his face the whole way.

* * *

Naruto all but threw open the door, his arms extended in a friendly matter like he was going to hug the person he was visiting. "Anubis! How's it going, man!?"

Anubis Basara was a tired looking, middle age man with short, dark hair and a permanent five o'clock shadow. Being of Vacuo heritage his skin was darker than most people born in Vale, not black but a nice caramel. His faunus traits were more pronounced than his sons, with longer ears and sharper canines. He also had a tail that his son did not inherit. Mainly because his wife and Set's mother was a cat faunus, and their fauni genetics clashed or something like that.

Hey, he was a vigilante not a geneticist.

"Naruto! My friend, ahaha! How good it is to see you!" He returned with an equally giddy grin, his slightly wrinkled face twisting into a smile of delight.

The two men met with a hug, both laughing light-heartedly, before parting a couple of seconds later. "It's been a while, Anu. How's the family?"

"Ah, good, very good. Bastet is at home taking care of Khepri, he's such a little handful. And to make things better we have another little one on the way!"

"Really? Congrats, man! I need to stop by the house one of these days, I almost didn't recognize Set."

"Aye, he's growing into a fine young man, and you are most welcome in my humble abode, Naru." Anubis happily declared before chuckling nervously. "Just make sure you call first, yes? Last thing I need is Bastet on our case."

"She gettin' moody?"

"Aye she's about five months in and I can't wait for it to be over already." Both men shared a laugh.

"I'll make sure to stop by before I head off to school, old man." Naruto promised.

"Oh? Got into Beacon, yes?"

"Yeah, me 'n Sasuke got our letters the other night. Which brings us to why I stopped by."

"Aye, can't take Yang with you to Beacon. Too many prying eyes." Anubis mused to himself, adopting a thoughtful expression. A large grin soon stretched across his tan face. "What did you and Sasuke use for your previous schooling?"

"We didn't go to any of the basic Huntsman schools," our blond faunus explained, "Angel, Rain and Dreamer took turns training us. We had to apply to Beacon through its Combat Admittance Tests."

"Right, right. It had slipped my mind. What weaponry did you use in the tests?"

"Sasuke just used a basic bow and I had a wooden staff. Not the best equipment, but we made it work."

"And I'm guessing that the big three want you to learn new weapon skills, yes?"

"Yep, I say we should just stick to what we know but Sasuke's too much of a stick in the mud to disobey a direct order," Naruto sighed in defeat. "Especially one that came from Angel."

Anubis shuddered, "Aye, she scares me more than my darling Bastet could ever hope to."

"Anyways," Naruto drawled, bringing the topic of conversation away from the woman who could strike fear into the most masculine of men, "whatcha got for me today, old man?"

Anubis walked back around his desk taking a seat at his computer, an expression of thought carved onto his dark skin. Clicking noises were all that was heard in the room for a couple of minutes as the older faunus browsed on his computer for ideas. A grin grew as his cursor hovered over a particular file, and without warning he bolted out of his seat.

"Come, come. I have a little project I think that you will enjoy, my boy!" He yelled excitedly as he dragged the fox faunus out of the room in a hurry.

As Anubis dragged our foxy protagonist into the back room, Naruto caught a glimpse of his partner walking to the front counter, a decently sized bag in hand.

"Here we are!" Anubis declared as they stopped in front of a large, metal crate that was hidden behind a clutter of other half built or disassembled weapons. Popping open the container, Naruto's eyes widened at the weapon that lay inside, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"She's just a prototype, but I'm willing to let her go." Anubis explained as his fellow faunus eye humped the article of death. "Knowing how she'll do in the field will let me see what needs improving, yes? Besides, I don't know anyone else who could wield her properly, besides myself of course. So... what do you say, my young friend?"

"I say, fuck the hell yes, old man."

* * *

The cool night breeze washed over Naruto, who was decked out in his Daybreak outfit, as he sat atop the side of one of the buildings in downtown Vale. His breaths were deep as he enjoyed the nighttime atmosphere. Vale was much quieter this time of day, though there was some noise from the after hours crowds below, he could also hear the rhythmic thumping of a night club about three blocks away.

He instinctively twirled Yang in his hands. This would be the last night he had to wield her for some time, so he planned on using his precious staff as much as he could on this fine night. Sasuke had patrol duty tomorrow night and then the day after that they would be shipping off to Beacon. And while Sasuke patrolled Vale as Archer tomorrow night, he had plans for dinner with Anubis and his family.

Discarding his current train of thought, he honed his exceptional hearing for anything that might spell trouble for the civilians below. His fox-like ears twitched as the sounds of the city assaulted them.

Night clubs blaring their overplayed songs? Check.

Patrons of the various bars drunkly slurring as they attempted dialogue with their friends? Yep.

A beer bottle being smashed against a wall? Check-a-roonie.

The occasional police siren? Uh huh.

The subtle hum of the Dust engines in the cars that passed underneath? Affirmative.

The distant roar of the engines of a Bullhead hovering near the waterfront? Suspicious, but nothing he hadn't heard there before.

A few civilians arguing over- wait, was that gunfire? You'd better believe it! And high caliber from what he heard. Definitely a Huntsman grade weapon.

Pearly white canines flashed in the night as Naruto bolted off in his intended direction, flipping off the roof he occupied onto a lower roof. Thankfully the waterfront wasn't too far off from where he had been in downtown Vale.

As he parkoured over obstacles and from rooftop to rooftop, Yang was brought out and extended to her full length, the hoops turned into partial hooks, allowing our blond hero to swing around and under railing and other constructs protruding from the concrete jungle around him.

As he neared his guessed destination the roar of the Bullhead he had heard earlier gradually grew deafening, using it as a marker he aimed Yang upwards. A third of his staff exploded outward, a rope attaching the, now, two segments of the weapon. As the hook traveled up the side of the appartment building he stood near it latched onto the fire escape near the top and with a press of a button, Naruto turned into a red and black bullet as he was yanked from his position on the ground. The hook he had used as a grappling device unlatched as he soared passed it, soaring into the air above the rather worn down appartments. A clear vision of what he heard was visible from this high up.

A Bullhead hovered near a Dust shop that seemed to have been robbed, if the broken display glass was any indication. Also, a copious amount of the henchmen from the other night lay unconscious on the street outside the vandalized Dust parlor. That was a pretty big giveaway as well. On the roof adjacent to the stationary transport a girl decked out in bountiful amounts of red and black, no older than 16 if he had to guess, stood defiant of the crooks occupying said carrier. In the cockpit sat a woman with most of her figure shaded out. Noticing movement in her peripherals, her raven clad head turned to observe what she had seen.

Her burning amber eyes met his vibrant blue slits.

A silent shout flew from her plump lips as soon as the mystery woman took notice of his apparel, and the Bullhead jerked slightly, attempting to get far enough from the building to take off. Naruto grinned as Yang took aim and fired, the power of the hook shot sending him backwards a decent amount. The hook screamed through the air as it looped around the midsection of the ship, latching onto its' own cord. Naruto let gravity and the rewind mechanic inside Yang take hold, and soon he found himself swinging underneath the enemy controlled airship.

As he swung up from under the Bullhead, which bucked slightly as it fought with the physics caused by a certain teenage boy and his ever trusty staff, time seemed to slow down as he came face to face with a effeminate, orange haired man in a bowler hat, who had just tossed a fire Dust crystal at the Little Red Riding Hood look alike. Giving a rather lazy wave to the shocked orangette, he let the rope go slack and he flew back into the air above the roof where the Huntress-in-training stood, not even trying to cover up her look of awe and excitement. As the hook wrapped around the Bullhead came undone and rocketed back to the staff it originated from, scraping the armor of the airship as it did, the other loop expanded slightly and with an detonation of Dust, shot at the unexpecting silver eyed girl.

* * *

Ruby Rose wasn't what anyone would describe as a normal fifteen year old girl. Her general shyness, extreme innocent nature, and offsetting obsession with all weapons in all of existance had distanced her from the 'norm' of other fifteen year olds, even those who were Huntsman or Huntresses-to-be themselves.

However that wasn't to say that she lacked any normality. She liked rock music and sweets, especially her beloved chocolate chip cookies, and was a kind person by default. And as the years went by she managed to acquire a group of friends who loved her for her dorky nature.

She also had a mean fighting steak in her which she blamed her sister, Yang and uncle Qrow for. Her father, who was a teacher at Signal Academy, didn't help her development either, constantly fussing over her and Yang and making sure they both had the knowledge and the know how to make it in this world.

Of course she never actually went looking for fights, they came looking for her. But she was more than ready to hit back when a challenge came knocking.

Except right now.

No amount of training could ever have prepared her to be literally taken off her feet by one of her idols.

Folding up Cresent Rose, a yelp left her lips as Foxs'- HOLY CRAP IT'S _THE_ ACTUAL FOX!- staff yanked her away from the fire Dust shard thrown at her feet by the orange headed jerkface she had been fighting. As she felt herself being pulled to her absolute favorite vigilante _ever_ , all she could do was stare at the man pulling her along for a ride. More importantly, she was gazing at his weapon.

As the Dust-action grappling staff reunited itself, she got a close up inspection of one of her dream weapons. The smooth, slightly warm metal was pitch black and looked like it could absorb any light that touched it. There was a thin, yet sturdy section in the middle of the elongated rod, where Fox's gloved hand currently gripped, that was about three feet long. Connected directly to this segment on both sides were two thick cylindrical tunes, about a foot and a half themselves, where the steel-weave rope that he used to grapple onto things must lay in when not in use. And of course, the coup-de-grace itself, the two loops that could act like pincer grapples on both ends of the staff that set his weapon appart from any other weapon she had seen. They made his weapon iconic.

Her mouth was almost watering at being within touching radius of his chosen battle partner.

A chuckle caught her attention as she realized two things; one, his staff had released her petite waist, and, two, he had replaced it with his arm, which he had wrapped protectively around her in its stead. Her cheeks soon colored themselves to match her namesake. As a second or two of weightlessness hit the both, she attempted to take a sneaky peek at Fox's face. In the few seconds when they stopped accelerating upwards, Foxs' hats red cloth curtains opened up to reveal a smiling faunus as he took in the night sky around them before his gaze met hers. If possible, his smile widened and he winked- _WINKED!-_ at her. His tan skin glowed in the fractured moons light, and his asure eyes twinkled into her own luminescent silver orbs.

If possible her blush darkened even further.

"Hold on, Red!" He shouted over the roaring winds as they began their decent, "this may or may not get bumpy!" His laughter as he yelled his suggestion to her made her sisters face flash through her head. It was the same type of insanely giddy laughter Yang had whenever she was doing something utterly reckless or completely for the thrill.

 _Please don't let him be a boy version of Yang!_ She begged whatever deity that may be listening to her thoughts.

* * *

As the explosion below them abated, they were surprised to find a platform waiting for them in the middle of the air, an eery pink glow lighting it up. Naruto quickly handed Yang off to Ruby, who squealed excitedly at being able to hold his precious weapon, and shifted her into a bridal hold. Bending his knees right before, he absorbed all the force of his landing by rolling at the last second. As soon as he stabilized himself, the chunk of concrete descend back to the roof and to the feet of the person controlling it.

A tall, blonde woman who seemed to enjoy rocking the librarian look walked out of the settling debris, what looked to be a riding crop in her hand. It was illuminated by the same ethereal glow that surrounded the slab he had just stepped off. A serious look seemed to be permanently etched onto her features, especially as she regarded to two younger fighters infront of her.

The roar of the Bullhead turned all eyes to the departing aircraft, Torchwick mockingly saluting them as the side hatch closed. With another growl, the Bullhead took off, attempting to get out of Huntress' gaze as fast as it could manage.

"Well... that was anticlimactic," Naruto commented after the aircraft had escaped from their collective sight.

Glynda's eyes narrowed at Fox's casual dismissal of what could have rather easily turned into a life or death situation. She observed the two teenagers, as Fox deposited Ruby back on solid ground, the silver eyed girl seemed to memorizing the every nook and cranny of his grappling staff. Her movement were precise and gentle as she twirled the weapon around in an attempt to discover all its secrets.

Fox seemed to be fine with her manhandling his weapon, though Glynda could spy his eyes on the red highlighted girl, watching from his peripherals. The girl seemed to know exactly how to inspect and handle a weapon like Yang, so he wasn't all that worried, but still, that was his baby. Gotta make sure she was safe at all times.

Deeming Ruby to be careful enough to hold onto Yang for a while, Fox turned his head back to Glynda's direction, the blonde Huntress had been watching him like a hawk ever since she had gotten onto the scene. Not that he could blame her. He was a vigilante with no true ties to anything but the Daybreak Organization. That being said, she had orders from her boss should she encounter Fox or Archer. Being the ever curious man that he was, Ozpin wanted to _talk_ to one of the boys. She just knew this night would turn into a nightmare as she reported to the Headmaster through text on her Scroll.

She received his reply not a few moments later. Apparently he had been expecting this... _somehow_.

Turning back to the other two fighters, all train of thought had halted as she exposed herself to what could pass as a poor comedic act. Ruby was panicking as Fox was being strangled by his own weapon after the poor girl had somehow managed to latch a tightened loop around his neck. Of course it didn't help as Fox was attempting to grab Yang back out of Ruby's arms while the smaller woman was reassuring him she could 'fix it', resulting in the vigilante chasing her around the rooftop in a desperate bid to get his neck out of the noose.

Sighing as she rubbed the bridge of her nose gently, one swift stroke of the arm that held her riding crop and the button to release the grapple was pushed by a small peice of rubble, and Fox was free to breath again.

It was rather amusing to watch the small Huntress-in-training stutter out apologies as Fox took deep, and rather exaggerated if you asked her, breaths before he swiped Yang out of Ruby's arms and bopped her on the head with it. Crocodile tears spilled over as she clutched her head and the young Huntress-in-training gave the blond faunus her best glare.

Naruto quickly felt his irratation abate as the moe girl tried to give him her best stink eye. It was more adorable than deadly. She was just too cute! He couldn't help but hug her, causing the poor girls face to heat up significantly.

Thankfully, for our grumpy professor, the whine of another aircraft broke apart any other nonsense as a privately owned Airship was seen, slowly decending to the group of three, it's four rectangular wings flapping slowly.

Docking in air next to the abused rooftop, the Airships ramp descended touching down with a dull thump. Naruto's sensitive ears picked up what sounded like a cane making impact with metal, being proved right when a green clad figure appeared inside the ship, his cane in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other. Naruto sniffed the air, yep, definitely tea, Atlesiean camomile if he had to take a guess. Ruby, who was standing next to him, gave him an odd look as she heard the sharp intake though his nostrils.

The man stopped at the end of the ramp for dramatic effect, surveying the scene infront of him. His brown eyes landing on Naruto for a brief second, before they moved to linger longer on the redhead next to him. Walking forward til he stood directly in front of the two teenagers he took a sip of his team before he addressed them.

"Ruby Rose, you have... silver eyes." He seemed to note randomly out loud getting raised eyebrows from the three. Turning his gaze back to Naruto he paused, looking inside for the right words to say. When he found them he spoke slowly, "Naruto Namikaze.. you and your siblings hide yourselves exceptionally well." Eyebrows shot skyward as he dropped the name of the Daybreak member so casually, and Naruto's grip on Yang tightened, ready to use it at a seconds notice. "How long I've waited to meet you both. Please, I bid you come with me so that we may talk, privately of course, Mr. Namikaze. Nobody but us will be listening."

All eyes on the roof scape landed on one of our protagonists, awaiting his answer. Sighing as he rubbed his neck out of stress he chuckled to himself, "Awwww jeez, what the hell am I gunna tell the others?"

"I'm sure they would be ecstatic to hear from me, especially a certain three trouble makers," Ozpin calmly answered without missing a beat.

"Fine, but if Angel or any of them gets pissed it's on your ass, old man." Glynda narrowed her green eyes at the disrespect this hooligan was showing the Headmaster.

Ozpin simply laughed lightly, breaking her from her thoughts, "Of course, my dear boy."

"Alrighty then, ready whenever you are," Naruto said after he had typed out a message on his personal Scroll and sent it to all members of Daybreak. _Dawn is veiwed through a telescope._ Otherwise known as the code to use if a members identity is discovered, or found out. And if Ozpin knew who Fox was then there was know telling how many if their identities had been discovered. As he was tucking his mobile device it started vibrating and a song started playing.

 _"WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY!?_

 _Ring-ding-ding-din-"_

Naruto quickly hit the ignore button. A small blush on his face, Sasuke you bastard! 482-481, Sasuke's favor. He would have to get him back later tonight.

"Was that..?" Ruby asked cautiously, trying not to laugh.

"Archer's idea of a prank." Glynda scoffed hearing this. Of course one of the most respected and feared organizations on Remnant would have members acting so childishly.

"Ohhh.. you guys play pranks on each other!? That's so cool, like a group of-!"

The Scroll went off again, interrupting Ruby's excited rant, this time he checked who was call. He turned a little pale as he saw it was Angel. His expression of distress quickly turned into a sinister grin. Accepting the call he gestured for the Headmaster of Beacon to take the phone.

"I told you, it's on your ass not mine."

Ozpin gingerly grabbed the Scroll and held it to his ear. "Fox? Fox!? I swear, if this is your idea for one of your idiotic pranks I'll-"

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting, but I don't have all night, Miss Rose and Mr. Namikaze need to to get to bed at some point."

The line went quiet for a few seconds, "Who is this?" The woman's voice was deathly calm.

"This is Ozpin."

*Click*

Handing the Scroll back to Naruto, who quickly pocketed it, he began walking back to his Airship.

"Come now, we don't have all night."

Walking after the can wielding man, Naruto felt a shudder make its way up his back. As the door closed, cutting them off from the outside world, Naruto asked, "Do you happen to have any spare paper and pens on this boat?"

"And for what reason could you possibly need those, Mr. Namikaze?" Glynda asked.

"I feel the need to write my last will and testament."

Ozpin hid his smirk by taking a sip of his tea.

* * *

The elevator ride up to Ozpin's office was rather cramped, even after Yang and Cresent Rose had been collapsed and put away. The siverette Headmaster and his blond Deputy-Headmistress stood in the front while Ruby and Naruto stood behind them against the wall. Glynda was tapping away on a Tablet, doing Oum knows what, while Ozpin did what was expected of him, calmly sipping his seemingly endless cup of tea.

Meanwhile, next to Naruto, Ruby was having a partial breakdown. One of her biggest idols _ever_ was standing not even two feet from her and she couldn't bring herself to speak to him. She opened and closed her mouth a few times over the ride up, trying to get something out but nothing she could think of was enough to start a conversation. Noticing the girls odd actions, he turned his blue eyes in her direction, causing the redhead to find the walls or floor very interesting for the duration of his gaze. Underneath the hat, unknown to Ruby, Naruto lightly smirked, it wasn't the first time he had encountered a idolizer, if that was actually a word, though few were as purely adorable as the silver eyed Rose standing next to him. Cursing her timid nature when the elevator doors parted, she followed the group into the circular, clock tower office.

As she entered the room behind Naruto a sweet aroma hit her nostrils and in a burst of rose petals, she dissappeared in a rush of pure speed. Naruto span comically as she brushed passed him, and Glynda held down her skirt. Ozpin simply sidestepped, avoiding the red blur all together. A plate of cookies lay on Ozpin's desk, probably chocolate chip from Ruby's reaction.

As the delicious treats were devoured without remorse, Naruto walked passed, snatching a cookie off the plate with his tail getting an odd look from Ruby, who had only seen a yellow blur. Popping said treats into his mouth, he leaned against of of the windows that offered a view of Beacon's grounds. Ruby glared at him as she realized that Naruto had stolen some of her precious baked goods.

"But, but, my cookies.." She whined. Naruto just gave a pointed look as her ate the last one. "I'll get you some more later," He compromised. Seeing her content nod, he turned to the silverette Headmaster. "Little Red first, old man. Then you can ask me whatever you want."

Ozpin nodded as he sat down, his hand danced over the holographic screen on his desk. Pressing a final button, they were all rewarded as the room dimmed, the windows darkened themselves so no one could peek inside. The elevator shut off, cutting off anyone's route in or out. Above the, somewhere in the gears, several lights turned on, bathing the room in a light gold lighting.

As the new lighting descended upon them, Naruto removed his uniforms hat, and immediately felt three sets of eyes on his face. It was to be expected, humans, fanus, they were all equally curious creatures, and the three humans in front of him were no different. Each of them took in his wildly handsome features, with Ruby's face heating up slightly as a result. Hey, she may be innocent, not for a lack of trying to corrupt her on her sisters part, but she was a teenager girl, and she was painfully aware of cute boys.

Their individual attentions were drawn back to Ozpin as he cleared his throat loudly. It was time to get down to business.

Naruto turned his attention away, as Ozpin conversed with the red hooded girl, he only picked up on the essentials of the conversation. Questions about where such an innocent looking girl could learn how to wield a scythe oh Cresent Rose's caliber. Check.

Confirmation that Qrow, who was apparently a teacher at Signal and her uncle, taught her to wield it. Yup.

Random ninja/kung-fu-y noises and talks about romance? Naruto smiled a little at her childish nature, it was refreshing.

Her talking about her dad raising her to be the best person she could be, and that being the reason she decided to become a Huntress? Her passion was great, there was no denying that, but Naruto hoped she knew what she was getting herself into.

Being a protecter and soldier of Remnant was a great responsibility.

"So, you wish to attended my school?" Ozpin asked her, a great deal of amusement in his voice from watching her rant and stammer excitedly earlier.

"More than anything." Ruby declared, her resolve burning strong.

"Hmmm," his brown eyes wandered to Glynda, who rolled her eyes and scoffed, turning away. Ozpin would do what he wanted anyways, he was just being considerate of her feelings and opinion on the matter. "What about you Mr. Namikaze? What do you think of our adorable Huntresses-to-be?"

Once more all eyes fell apon the agent of Daybreak, all seeking his opinion. Turning away from the dimmed window, Narutos piercing blue eyes stared through Ruby's silver orbs, his gaze dead serious. For a few minutes he was quiet.

"She's alright." He began, his tone had lost the warmth it had from earlier. "A little excitable but that's to be expected with her age. Her skills with her weapon are, as you said, exceptional. A few more tweets and a decent amount of training and she'did be a force of nature with that semblance of hers. She's also got a good heart."

As Naruto finished his small evaluation, to which Ruby gave him a grateful look for, all eyes shifted back to the green Headmaster of Beacon.

"Alright." He confirmed.

Ruby looked elated. One of her biggest desires had just came true! She would have celebrated a bit, if she hadn't been quelled by Ozpin.

"Now," He began softly, "I do believe it is time we heard your companions story. Mr. Namikaze?"

"It's just Naruto," our protagonist corrected, "and my story isn't much."

"Regardless, I'd still like to hear it."

"Fine." Naruto relented, he would be at Ozpin's school for the next four years anyways, best to at least sate some of the man's curiosity. "What do you wanna know?"

* * *

 **And that's a wrap!**

 **A decently long chapter to keep you ravenous beasts at bay for a bit.**

 **Anyways, I just watched the season finale, and sweet jesus I did NOT see half of that coming. For the sake of those who are not caught up with the canon, I won't say a thing for a few chapters, then it's free game.**

 **But yeah, I'm so glad I waited to make this fic. So many game changers happened in this season and I'm still trying to accept a good deal of them. Like Mothballz's Remnant's Maelstrom Shinobi may or may not be getting a rewrite. Which is a shame, seeing a story that inspired me getting a reality check because of the season 3 ending.**

 **Sigh.**

 **But what can we do?**

 **Anyways, next installment won't be for a few more weeks at most, and I'll start responding to reviews next chapter. Have a good time, perps.**

 **Ja ne!**

 **Edit: I know it's really soon for an edit, but I was unhappy with the way this chapter ended. No major changes, just a sentence or two.**


	3. A Dance In Shadows and Petals

**Chapter 2: A Dance In Shadows and Petals**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or RWBY. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Monty Oum/RoosterTeeth respectively.**

 **Hey guys, I know it's been a bit, to those of you waiting for this update... sorry 'bout that. And for those just joining us, welcome to Daybreak.**

 **I've been very busy as of late, and I know you guys hear that from every other author that takes a hiatus every now and then, but it's the truth. Recently one of my best friends passed away, and I was broken a little, but instead of moping I decided to put my energy and sorrow into continuing Daybreak. Better than just moping over something I have no control over, right?**

 **But, yeah, enough of all that depressing shit.**

 **So, Vol. 3 was a doozy. First Amber, then Penny, Torchwick AND Pyrrha... holy shit those boys and girls behind the scenes really know how to tug at our heart strings, huh? Regardless, hate them or love them, I applaud Monty (may he rest in peace) and the writers for having the sheer balls to kill off three fan favorites. I really didn't see Pyrrha's death coming (spoiler alert), and Penny's undoing actually made me cry... I kind of liked the idea of Nuts 'n Dolts (Ruby x Penny) but that's out the window (of the top floor of a fifty story building) now.**

 **And now we have the whole Silver-Eyed Warriors thing too...**

 **Welp, lots of ground to catch up on, see you all next update, and happy reading to all!**

* * *

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

The tower office was tense as Ozpin and Naruto stared each other down. Everything was silent, not even the gears seemed to dare make a sound as they continued to push the clock tower through its motions. Glynda watched the two soldiers with interest, she knew Ozpin had somewhat of an obsession with monitoring the blond faunus in front of them. He had for several years now, and she knew why. Ruby's silver orbs darted between them, excitement barely contained as she waited for Ozpin to speak.

When Ozpin did react, it was only through hitting a button on the desk. Behind them the elevator powered back up. Glynda glared at her boss and Ruby looked confused. Was he dismissing them? Lame!

"Glynda, I do believe that Miss Rose would benefit from an early tour of our fine facilities." Ozpin stated his masked command.

Her eyes narrowed further as Ozpin's made contact. She did not approve of him being left alone with the vigilante, at all. But from the look he was giving her, there would be no compromise in his decision.

Turning on heel she addressed the younger woman, "Come along Miss Rose, we have much to see." Ruby looked ready to protest, she wanted to know her hero's back story, darn it!

"I'm sure you and Mr. Namikaze will have plenty of time to talk, Miss Rose." Ozpin's voice had a tone of mischief in it. "After all, you will both be attending Beacon together."

Naruto blinked and then glared at the elder Huntsman as Ruby's eyes lit up with stars. Not that he had anything against the girl, but he didn't need her pestering him and Sasuke when school did start. Not that what he wanted mattered, she would have eventually tracked him down when he got placed in his team. _Hell, we might be on the same team,_ He mused to himself. Sighing, he resigned himself to such possibilities. After all it was no secret that Beacon and the other top schools employed teams of four Hunter-Trainees.

As Ruby and Glynda stepped into the waiting elevator, the red clad Rose gave him a nervous wave. Smiling lightly, he nodded his temporary farewell before the doors slid shut taking both females out of his line of sight.

After he was certain they were gone, the silver haired Headmaster opened a drawer in his desk, grabbing the contents inside before standing up and took a place next to the blond Namikaze. Naruto turned back around and copied Ozpin's action, both men staring out the tinted window in front of them. A silence settled on them, only being broken by Ozpin taking a sip of his tea.

"So why did you tell them my name and then send them away?" Naruto's question broke the uncomfortable lack of communication.

"Mainly, because it would have been inconceivably difficult for me to garner your attention so that we may have this talk, and as a secondary objective, for Miss Rose's benefit, the poor girl has a hard enough time around new people." The answer came faster than Naruto had expected, like Ozpin had been reciting answers for whatever question he could have asked. He probably had been. "A new friend, especially one with such an outgoing attitude like your own would do wonders for her self esteem."

Naruto's eyes twitched. "So lemme get this straight," He began, his voice had a dangerous tone, "You blew a cover I've had for two years, just so you could play some sort of friendlier version of a match maker?"

"That is one of my reasons, yes." Naruto resisted the urge to punch the man. "She looks up to you, a heroic individual in her eyes." Ozpin continued, "Not many get to befriend their hero."

"I'm no hero."

"Oh? I believe the public has a differing opinion on the matter."

"I'm just doing what I think is right, old man."

Ozpin simply chuckled. "But that's what it always comes down to, does it not? The White Fang believe that what they do are the righteous actions to take. Many a criminal think that they are doing right, whether they think themselves above the law or by getting back at a world that put them down is at their own discretion. You and the other members of your organization believe that they are doing right by fighting crime and other such strifes. May I remind you that in the eyes of conventional law that you are all criminals? The difference between Daybreak and other such groups is simply public opinion. Even the governments of the Kingdoms are hesitant to move against you, merely observing as you make your moves. They are nervous, as am I."

Naruto's blue slits narrowed as he took in Ozpin's words, his mind trying to uncover what Ozpin had been hinting at.

"They're afraid that we'll end up like the White Fang..."

"Indeed."

"We're nothing like them." Naruto contained the shout that wanted to erupt, his voice carried copious amounts of venom in its stead. "The White Fang are murderers who turned their backs on the world."

"But in the beginning they were much the same as Daybreak, just without all the crime fighting. All it took was the wrong person in power to corrupt their viewpoint, to turn themselves against the world rather than walk it to a better future. Many are afraid that Daybreak will do the same. You hold so much favor with the public that it would be disastrous if your leaders took the wrong path."

"Dreamer, Angel and Rain wouldn't do that." Naruto vehemently denied. "None of us would."

"No? Not even yourself?" Ozpin questioned, "If the White Fang were crippled and weakened, would you not strike out against them? Ignite a war between Daybreak and the White Fang? After all, I know how much contempt you have for that particular group, after what they did to your family I would be surprised if you didn't have any anger pent up inside you."

Naruto's eyes darkened and Ozpin barely managed to catch what he muttered, "No child should have to watch their parents and siblings die..."

The Headmaster nodded solemnly and placed a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "No, they should not. But life is a cruel mistress, and seldom does she grant us what we desire." Naruto's blue eyes hardened at that, while he didn't want pity from anyone, Ozpin had simply tossed all the sugar out the window with his statement.

"How do you know so much about me? Earlier you said you'd been waiting to meet Ruby and me. How did you know who was beneath the Fox?"

"It was not easy by any measure, it took me an entire year and a half of suspicions and tracking your footsteps for me to make an educated guess on the matter. Even with how recklessly you treated your secret identity, many who had seen even tiny glimpses of your features were hesitant to speak of them, if at all." Ozpin admitted with little difficulty, and Naruto grinned sheepishly. The whole secret identity thing was never his forte, Sasuke had always the careful one who enjoyed all that cloak and daggers bullshit. Besides, Naruto did enjoy the attention the job gave him. "Your fans and the people you've helped over the past two years are loyal to a fault."

"Still... how'd you even suspect me in the first place?"

"I am aware of the identities of 'The Three who bring the Dawn'. Also, it helps that I... Well, it would be easier to show you."

The green clad Huntsman took his hand off Naruto's shoulder in favor of fishing in his coat pocket. As his hand gingerly gripped the desired object, he brought it into view and handed it to the blond Namikaze. Naruto's eyes softened as he took the item from Ozpin's grasp. It was a picture of his mother and father on their wedding day, surrounded by smiling people including Ozpin himself. Said Headmaster said nothing as the young man took in the whole picture, his eyes were moistening rapidly as he saw his parents smiles.

"You knew them?"

His voice was barely a whisper but it seemed to echo across the entire room. Ozpin nodded slowly as he viewed the picture from a distance, voices and sounds from the day it was taken reverberated in his mind and images flashed in front of his eyes.

"Yes, and I had the privilege of being close to both of them." Ozpin's voice was low, emotions threatened to break through his well crafted mask of calmness. "The day Minato, Kushina and your siblings died was one of the worst days of my life, something we both share. I searched far and wide for you after we couldn't find your body, and it broke my heart when I couldn't find you and keep you safe."

Reaching back into his pocket, Ozpin pulled out the other item he had grabbed from his desk drawer. Dangling from his fist was a intricate, red locket with the Uzumaki family symbol engraved into the front. The crimson spiral glinted in the golden light created by the fixtures high above.

Handing back the photo, Naruto carefully gripped the locket, before he found the button on top of the trinket and pressed it. The locket popped open, and with its reveal, the tears threatening to escape our protagonists eyes spilled over. A smiling Namikaze family gazed up at him, Minato and Kushina held the young twins, Mito and Daiki, while Naruto sat between them on his parents laps, grinning madly as he threw up a peace sign with his right hand, mimicking his mother. He could vaugly remember this day, he had been six when this was taken, Mito and Daiki were only two years old.

"Where did you..." He wasn't able to save anything from home after the White Fang attacked. Seeing something his parents had treasured brought feelings he hadn't felt in quite some time to the surface.

The elder Huntsman smiled grimly, "I took it from the ruins of the house while we searched. It was one of the only items still intact after the White Fang set fire to it, and after we could not locate you, the group split up what we found in order to preserve what little we could."

Naruto nodded slowly, his shoulders shaking occasionally as he sobbed. He hadn't wept since that day four years ago. It felt good to let it out.

Several minutes passed by as the two men stood in silence. Ozpin had awaited this moment for so very long, his happiness after discovering who Fox was had sent him into the clouds. The eldest of two of his closest friends had survived! His heart could begin mending once more knowing he could protect their only living legacy. Of course he had been even happier when Naruto applied to attend Beacon, seeing his signature had only dissolved any doubts as to who Fox was.

"...How did you know who our leaders are? And how many of our identities do you know?"

The question snapped Ozpin back to reality. His brown eyes shifted over to the teenage faunus next to him, Naruto was still staring at the locket his ocean blue eyes never leaving the image of his family.

"To be completely honest, I am only privy to The Threes' identities, as well as your own. Of course there is your partner who, I have no definitive proof about, but I could take a shot in the dark and say is none other than Mr. Sasuke Uchiha. As for the remaining three... I could only take guesses until they struck true. I have somewhat of an idea as to whom Samurai and Knight are under their cloaks, but once again, no irrefutable evidence. As for Raccoon... Well, my idea is as good as anyone elses."

Naruto grunted. He got one of the answers he had been seeking. "And knowing about Dreamer, Angel and Rain?"

"Now _that_ is a tale for another time," Ozpin said with humor, "For telling would involve admitting breaking several laws, both local and international along with, dare I say, the possibility that I, a humble Headmaster, somehow managed to bug all the CCT towers. But with all the criminal activity as of late, who can truly be sure of the culprit should the crime be discovered?"

Naruto frowned at the implications of what Ozpin had told him. "If you can track down the identities of the agents of Daybreak using the CCT towers, could the Kingdoms or the White Fang do the same?" He asked.

"They could, and in fact were doing the same." Ozpin answered with a straight face.

"Were?"

"I may have needed some extra space on the servers for my own bugs."

Naruto and Ozpin shared a small laugh together as the young Huntsman-in-training wiped the tears on his face away with his sleeve. "You crafty geezer." He accused lighlty.

"I take offence to that, you young hooligan," Ozpin joked back a small smile on his face, "These old bones are still spry enough to teach you quite a few things."

A comfortable silence descended among the two protectors as they watched the darkened grounds of Becon from on high, the broken moon shining down upon the landscape. Naruto felt his heart lighten as he clenched the photo of his family close to his chest, he had always wondered if they would approve of his decision to join Daybreak. "Would they be proud of me?" It came out as barely audible, meant to be a thought to only himself.

"...Of course they would be, Naruto." Ozpin had barely discerned what the youth had muttered, but he could tell what the young man with thinking. The same look had been present on his own face many a time throughout his long life. "They would be proud of you no matter the path you took, all Minato and Kushina cared about was if you were happy with your lot in life. As for Daiki and Mito... I would imagine that they would be ecstatic to learn that their own older brother was the hero Fox. I would bet every lien I've ever made that they would aspire to be just like you."

Naruto's eyes darted back over the picture as Ozpin's words struck something deep inside him. An orange shimmer coated his form as he clicked the locket shut before un-linking the red chain and securing it around his neck. A tiny smile graced his face as his partially puffy eyes closed. Ozpin's brown eyes widened as several spectral figures manifested behind his new student for a brief moment, all of them placing their hands on his shoulders before fading away.

 _Mom... Dad... Mito... Daiki... Don't worry, I'll keep this world and all my precious people safe. Even if I have to hold it all together with my own two arms, I won't let you down!_

Ozpin's eyebrow rose slightly as the light show around the vigilante died down. Naruto grasped the locket over his heart before he allowed it to slip beneath his Daybreak robes. Oh well, he had been meaning to give the locket to the boy. It was far more precious to Naruto than anyone else.

 _How peculiar._ Ozpin thought as he observed Naruto. _It was as if his soul had resonated with his will. The next four years will truly be a sight to behold._

"Thanks, Prof O," Naruto said gratefully, "...So what now?" He asked.

Simply nodding at the boys thanks, Ozpin said, "Now... I do believe that it is time you and Miss Rose got some shut eye. Shall I arrange transport for the two of you?"

Naruto grinned, "Nah, I got that handled. You got anywhere private where I can call something in and change?"

"Planning on going somewhere, are we?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little hungry, and I can't just ride around in my Daybreak clothes now can I? My ride draws too much attention," Naruto admitted.

"And here I thought you enjoyed attention."

"I do," Naruto admitted shamelessly, "But I ride Typhoon all the time when I'm not wearing my Fox disguise, and I think I've had enough people learn who Fox is for one night."

Ozpin pulled his Scroll out of his pocket and quickly tapped a few buttons on the screen. A second later Naruto's own Scroll pinged and he took it out to see what the elder Huntsman had sent him. "That's the pass into the faculties personal training ground, equipped with a retractable roof and all the space one could need. No need to worry about any of my colleagues stumbling upon you, as they are all enjoying their last night before school is back in session for the year. As such, the only people on grounds currently are the four of us. I shall alert the staff to your extra privilege, use it wisely, Naruto."

"Not going to see us off, old man?" Naruto question with mock hurt, a teasing smile stretched across his features. He placed his Scroll back into his pocket, nodding his thanks to the Headmaster.

Ozpin sighed, he really hoped Naruto would stop calling him that.

Spoiler alert; there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell.

"Unfortunately, as much as I would enjoy it, I have other important matters to attend to tonight before I turn in."

Naruto nodded his acceptance, flipping his hat back onto his head hiding his face once more before heading to the elevator doors. Punching the button, he turned around to find Ozpin sipping on a new mug of tea. As the elevator pinged it's arrival and the doors slid open, Naruto's and Ozpin's eyes locked for the last time of the night.

"Quick question before I go, what was this all about? Couldn't you have talked to one of the Three?" Naruto asked before quickly saying, "Not that I'm ungrateful for what you gave me or anything! But couldn't you have made contact with someone other than me?"

Ozpin smiled slightly as he took a sip of the new batch of tea. "It's true, I could have attempted to make contact with someone else, again." He finally said after finishing his tasting of the beverage. One of Naruto's golden eyebrows rose at the last part, had the Three brushed off Ozpin's attempts at communication before? "But you were the one I wanted to meet, for obvious reasons. That and for once I am expecting the Three to come to me, demanding what I wanted with one of their agents. I do so look forward to it."

"Give 'em hell for us both, yeah?" Naruto said with a toothy grin as he backed into the waiting lift. He really wanted to see how a meeting between 'The Great and Powerful Ozpin' and 'The Three that Bring the Dawn' would go. He was certain that the world would never be the same again.

"I will certainly try." Ozpin stated as the elevator doors began closing, "Have a good night, Mr. Namikaze."

"Night, old man."

And with that the doors slid shut and Naruto was torn from Ozpin's veiw.

* * *

Ruby wasn't having as much fun as she thought she would. Sure a preview of the school she would call home for the next four years sounded like a good idea... if Professor Goodwitch wasn't the one giving it to her. Don't get her wrong, Goodwitch seemed like a decent person, albeit a bit too strict, but only when she wasn't shoving so much information into her head. It made her feel like her brain was going to explode.

"-as you can see, Beacon hosts the most state-of-the-art arena technology, other than the Vytal Tournament Arena of course, on the face of Remnant." Glynda informed as the two females walked down a corridor, the senior Huntress walked with a straight, well trained posture, and her hands folded over the small of her back. Ruby however trailed behind, her form sagged slightly out of boredom, a look of pure indifference on her normally cheery features.

The hallway they currently trekked down hosted the majority of Beacon's training arenas, and Goodwitch was doing everything in her vocal powers to inform the young girl about them. She sighed as Glynda started talking once more. Why couldn't she stay in Ozpin's office?! At least Naruto seemed to make a boring situation a lot more interesting. They had chatted a little on the ride to Beacon and he came off as a super bright, if not eccentric person with a sense of humor that made her giggle. Plus, he really liked pranks and he was totally super cool! She had been entranced when he had told her of the time he had managed to swap the Dust in Archer's pipe with a decent dose of helium. It took Archer several inhales to realized he had been pranked, and his voice had remained squeaky for a good ten minutes after. Nobody could take him seriously when he stared yelling at Naruto for messing with his pipe.

In return, Ruby told him the time she slipped itching powder into her sisters panties after the big jerkface had replaced her outfit of choice with something 'less goth'. Seriously, what was wrong with black!? It was a declaration of war! Yang had to take 3 baths to get rid of the itch! Naruto had found it funny that her sisters name was Yang, and when she asked why, he had brushed off the question with a quick "It's a small world."

Ruby sighed as Goodwitch's voice broke her from her distracting thoughts. Just as she thought she would be forced to endure another lecture on Beacon or one of its features or curriculums, a crash from the training ground right next to brought both females to a halt. Goodwitch immediately turned to the door and swiped her card infront of the door, the device scanned it and the door slid open with a hiss.

The first thing that caught both women's eyes was the almost naked Naruto, who was currently slipping on a pair of orange pants with his back to them, his blue boxers in full view. A red and black RPL (Rocket Propelled Locker) rested next to him, its door ajar and the clothing inside exposed, the blond faunus' Daybreak outfit was crumpled up next to his personal locker. Freezing in place, his ears twitched back as he heard the door open. He turned his head roboticlly in their direction. By the time both Huntresses were in his line of sight, Ruby had buried her head deep in her cloak, hiding her embarrassed face in the hood. Glynda however looked reproachful at the sight of the blond using the training ground as his personal changing room.

"... Do you mind?" He deadpanned.

Ruby was out the door and around the corner before he had finished talking, red petals flutter to the ground behind her. Her older counterpart however glared at the boy, who, after several seconds, shrugged and continued to put on his pants, slipping his tail through the hole he had tailored into them. "Before you start to lecture me, Ozpin said I could."

Glynda rubbed her temples, of course her boss would let him do this. "As you were," Turning without even bothering to argue the boys words, the elder Huntress left the room to find her, undoubtedly, scarlet-faced ward.

A few minutes later, Naruto peeked his head out of the room, seeking his companion for the ride home. He spotted her about ten feet down the hall, Goodwitch stood next to her, crossed arms and peeved look still intact.

"Come on, now!" He beckoned them both with his tail, more so for Ruby than the teacher, "We haven't got all night... well I mean, I do... meh, you get the point." Ducking back into the room he dashed back to his locker. Stuffing his Daybreak outfit back into the flying, metal death trap, he quickly tapped a few keys onto the pad. As the two women reentered the room, they were taken by surprise as the RPL launched itself into the stands landing roughly on a seat in the third row, causing said seat to collapse under the weight.

Glaring at the young faunus, Glynda whipped her riding crop in the direction of the damages he had caused. Pink glows enveloped the pod, the seat under the pod, and the cracks in the floor next to Naruto where the podcast must have touched down. Within seconds all were fixed and Naruto's RPL was floating over to the referee stand where Glynda gently deposited it.

"May I ask as to why you tore up my training ground, Mr. Namikaze?" Glynda asked through barely clenched teeth.

"I would hardly call that 'tore up', teach." His casual dismissal caused her eye to twitched dangerously.

As the two of them bantered, Ruby was preoccupied with Naruto's change of wardrobe. Gone was the red and black of Daybreak, and it its place was orange and... black. Ha! See! Black was obviously not _that_ bad of a color. On his feet rested black, open toed, combat sandels that reached well above his ankles. Judging from how they were more bulky than normal sandels, she had to wager they had some armor in them. His legs were covered by what looked like orange track pants, over them on each shin was length of white armor, strapped to his legs snugly. His torso was covered by a slightly oversized, black jacket with an orange zipper. The jacket has a high neck on it, almost covering him up to the beginning of his jaw, and both of the sleeves were rolled up slightly, showing that they were buttoned in place. Also, on both his forearms he wore two more pieces of armor, identical to the ones on his shins, just tailored for his arms instead. His hands and wrists were covered by black, fingerless gloves that seemed to be made of the same material as his sandels. They weren't as bulky so she guessed that they were designed more for flexibility. On his left arm rest a red armband with a white spiral prominant on it. On his forehead rested a pair of orange goggles, however, our Huntress-in-training could spot another article of clothing underneath. She could barely make it out as a elastic headband with an orange spiral on it, but this one was slightly different than the normal white spiral. The symbol was larger than the one on his arm, and over the basic spiral design was an grinning, orange fox head. Another article of clothing was present, held under his right arm, but she could make nothing of the mass of orange cloth.

"That hardly matters, but the question that remains is what do you think you're doing?" Glynda grilled the boy, she was at the end of her temper at this point. Not only had Ozpin excluded both her and Ruby from whatever conversation they had partook in, but she would rather be in a bath right now, relaxing as she read a book. Not playing a glorified babysiter.

Twirling a collapsed Yang on his left index finger, Naruto grinned. "Well, I thought that since we're already in an arena, we'd use it."

Glynda's posture became dangerous, "Are you challenging me, Mr. Namikaze?"

Naruto's grin widened as he stopped spinning Yang and unfurled her, getting into his battle stance. "Nope... I'm challenging her!" His free hand pointed at Ruby.

All was silent after his declaration and Naruto used that time to slip on the last article of his chosen outfit. An orange half-jacket slipped comfortably over the top part of his torso, not going any farther down his sternum than his pectorals. Its collar was high, reaching up to his chin and fanning out slightly, and it's sleeves were long and loose at the ends, draping over his hands by a small amount. The same symbol on his forehead donned it's back.

He went back to observing the two shocked females...

Until... "EEHHH?!"

* * *

The walls around her echoed the tapping of her glass heels. A storm brewing behind her amber eyes. Daybreak had once more interfered in her plans, this time with help in the form of a little girl. A girl with silver eyes.

Cinder was no fool. She knew most stories had some sliver of truth to them. Or in this girls case, a _silver_ of truth. She would keep a close range eye on this Ruby Rose. _Rose._ That name seemed oddly familiar. It mattered not, she would make sure the girl never reached her full potential. The last thing her plan needed was a warrior who could strike fear into the Grimm themselves.

Next to the lady of crime strode an effeminate man with orange hair, his cane twirling in his hand. Roman Torchwick was seemingly peeved if the expression on his face was anything to go by. This was the last time he payed for the service of the buffoons who served Junior. I mean, he wasn't a heartless guy. When they got beaten black and blue by Agents of Daybreak, he gave them the benefit of doubt. They were Daybreak agents for Oum's sake. But he drew the line at being so thoroughly trounced on by a little red punk who wasn't even out of primary schooling yet! Oh he couldn't just wait for the conversation with Junior. The Club owner was going to be sore over how bad his boys had been treated under the orangettes employ. Just thinking of the conversation gave him a small headache.

The small pitter-patter of footsteps next to him broke him out of his current train of thought. Looking to his left, he was greeted by his favorite colleague by far. Her mismatched eyes and hair stood out the most on her person, being tri-colored tends to bring attention after all. Neo smiled up at her friend, blinking, her eyes shifted color to pink and brown from white and pink. Roman greeted the mute girl with a small, almost unnoticeable smile and a tip of his bowler hat. Skipping slightly ahead of the two adults, the teen proceeded to flawlessly walk backwards, giving Cinder a small wave of greeting as she did so.

"Neo, I'll trust that your job went without a problem?" The dark haired, young woman asked as she eyed her subordinate.

A nod was her confirmation. A wicked smile adorned Cinders face. Good, at least one thing went right tonight. "And the others? Have they returned?"

Another nod, and a jerk of her head in the direction they were heading.

Excellent. They had much discuss.

* * *

A small grunt escaped Naruto's lips as he batted Cresent Rose away once more. He'd give Ruby credit, she was certainly persistent, and her semblance was a bitch-and-a-half to deal with. Thankfully, the younger girl seemed to be unable to turn while her semblance was active, having to stop before changing directions. He wondered if she could learn to control it better, so she could make movements other than straight lines. A speed semblance like that would be downright deadly.

Especially with her ridiculously large scythe! Damn him if that thing wasn't dangerous enough by itself.

Both warriors planted the weapons into the ground simultaneously, using said constructs of destruction to spin themselves rapidly around, and in Ruby's case, over the shaft of Cresent Rose, until their feet met in brutally powerful kicks meant to knock the other on their respective ass.

Both Hunters-in-training flew away from their weapons and each other as both pools of Aura dropped slightly. Glynda was monitoring the fight from above on the referee stand. Peering at their Aura levels on her tablet it was clear that Naruto was winning this spar, with his energy levels still in the green, teetering on the marker for yellow, though, most of the Aura he had lost was by his own doing via his Semblance. Ruby's Aura level was halfway through yellow. Considering how much Aura the boy had, it didn't surprise her. The Aura reader could just barely keep his level of energy on the charts. He had more than she herself had, and was almost on Ozpin's milestone. It still confounded her, how did this young man have enough Aura to give her boss and run for his tea?!

Back in the arena, Ruby dashed to her scythe as Naruto picked himself back up. Damn this girl had a strong kick! His legs would be sore for a while after that blow! Feeling a rush of wind, he instinctively leaned back as far as he could. Less than a second later the butt-end of Cresent Rose tore through the air above him, and Ruby screeched to a halt behind him, petals fell on him as he recovered from his abrupt dodge as he was forced off the ground by another slice of the blade passed beneath him.

His eyes widened as another attack was aimed at his gut, the only warning given was the firing of Ruby's scythe-rifle, his golden claw hands sprung into existance as he grabbed the butt of the red scythe. However, the force of the impact still sent him sprawling back onto the arena floor, his Aura level took a serious blow, and they dipped into the yellow. A golden Aura claw shot out of his back and grabbed Rikudo Yang, pulling the staff out of the floor behind him, and into his awaiting hand.

Both combatants stared at each other from their positions, their deep breathing echoed in the battleground. Ruby's was a bit more strained than Naruto's, she had been using her Semblance in excess. After all, he was measuring her, testing her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't do her best to meet his expectations. She refused to be seen as weak by the man who was Fox.

Naruto's eyes danced over her smaller form, looking for any openings he could exploit. Her legs were her strong suit, and taking out just one of them would be a deciding factor, whether it limited her Semblance or just outright ended the battle. But judging on her current positioning, Ruby was well aware of her weakness and was ready to stop any attempts at incapacitating her legs. Of course her could go for her right arm, if he could get around that peice of metal overkill in her hands, which seemed to be her favored arm. Or... he could just try to whack her really hard in the head.

That always seemed to work.

Oh well, time to kick things up a bit.

 _'Let's see how well she deals with someone who can move as fast as she can_.'

Putting on a cocky grin, Naruto lowered Rikudo Yang to his side and gave Ruby a 'come at me' gesture with his free hand. Her eyes narrowed at what she thought was a dismissal of her being any type of threat. To be honest, it hurt her pride a little. Shifting Cresent Rose so the barrel was behind her, her feet dug into the ground and, with a flash of gunfire and red petals, Ruby soared towards her opponent.

Naruto's grin widened at the sight of the crimson spiral barreling in his direction.

His Aura spiked.

An orange spark appeared in front of her.

And Ruby had no idea what hit her.

* * *

Cinder clicked her tongue in annoyance, embers were burning in her eyes. While Neo's mission went according to plan, the data she had recovered was not as enlightening as she had been lead to believe.

After an unknown party had destroyed her little bugs in the CCT network, no doubt Ozpin or one of his cronies, all data she had been gathering about the Kingdoms and Daybreak had been lost. She had conceded her defeat in that area and had decided to minimize her reach, having only Vale's CCT under surveillance. Due to the last attempt at surveying all the peices on the board, she was aware of only the previous positionings of the enemies forces.

Glynda and Ozpin never truly left Beacon, and if they did it wasn't for long. So no need for an update on them.

The General, old Ironwood himself, was still presiding over his military and school. The Headmasters of Shade and Haven were still within the walls of their respective schools, preparing for the next school year as well.

Qrow's last position had been recorded in the middle of nowhere, well outside the Kingdoms walls. Without a doubt, trying to locate the assailants of the current -for now- Fall Maiden.

Raven... such a troublesome woman. Cinder had absolutely no clue as to where she was located. No one did to be honest. She was a wild card in all of its destructive potential, and recruiting her was a priority.

Taiyang was a teacher at Signal, she knew that to not have changed. And his eldest, Raven's daughter as well, was attending Beacon, along with the Schnee Heiress and the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos herself. No doubt an up and coming peice on the board.

Adam and the White Fang were wrapped tightly around her little finger. Now if only they could find Adam's little runaway...

Amber... without a doubt the most important player in her little game was hidden away by Ozpin. Finding her was key to claiming victory. But Ozpin's little group had had no chatter on her location. Very irritating.

Dreamer, Rain and Angel were unknowns. She had nothing on them at all, which was slightly worrying. Dreamer himself was said to be as powerful as Ozpin, not to mention he had his two friends and his little organization to back him up.

Samurai and Knight were also unknowns. Their last location was Mistral, other than that she was blind to that duos movements.

Raccoon was still in _Vacuo._ With his Semblance, it would be a waste to place him anywhere except those sandy wastes.

Archer was, much like his fellow agents, an unknown as well. But she had faith in this case as he was well within her grasp. It was only a matter of time...

That brought her to the final member of Daybreak, Fox. The agent she had the most information to work with due to his... less than careful approach and attitude in the field. A while back he had rescued a stray White Fang member and had let the man go. A poor mistake on the agents part. The man had been captured by Mercury and Emerald on his way into Atlas, no doubt to try and barter his protection with Ironwood. He had plenty of info to give the good General. Of course, she couldn't let Adam and his followers tear the man apart. At least, not right away. She had taken the man and... persuaded him to part with what little he saw and or knew of Fox. Much to her delight, the man had seen part of Fox's face, giving her a basic description of peachy-tanned skin, golden hair, and, strange enough, what seemed to be whisker marks on his cheeks. An uncommon trait among Faunus. Of course, Adam was _not_ pleased in the slightest that Fox was assumed to be a Faunus. She had heard him mutter something along the lines of 'blood traitor' under his breath. And much like Archer, Fox was well within her web of influence.

Cinder's last two interests were apparent newcomers to this vast game she played from the shadows.

The first being Ruby Rose. Further inquiry into the girl she had encountered not even two hours ago revealed that she was the daughter of Taiyang Xaio-Long and, more importantly, Summer Rose, who also had silver eyes. That's was, before her dissapearance a few years back. Cinder did _not_ need a warrior of legend running around unsupervised and uncontrolled, for a person that could strike a Grimm dead with just a look was far more terrifying and derailing than anyone else on her list, except Ozpin and Amber of course. Ruby would need to either be converted or disposed of, preferably _before_ the girl awoke the power laying dormant inside her. Unfortunately, she was without a doubt under both Ozpin's _and_ Daybreaks careful gazes. Getting to her would prove to be difficult.

The last peice was just as enigmatic as Daybreak. The White Fang stationed in Vacuo had been hit several times in the past few weeks. Normally she would have chalked it up to Raccoon cleaning house, but he normally didn't leave his victims dead. Seeing how all of the camps that were demolished had also seen all of their inhabitants slaughtered... Cinder highly doubted Raccoon was involved. Not to mention some of the oddities they had discovered. One camp had still hot lava all over it, another seemed to have coral pincushioning everything it could and another had what appeared to be black ink all over it.

Strange indeed. Whoever was doing these deeds had quickly made it to the top of the Fangs shit-list. Part of her wondered if these attackers were related to Ozpin's ragtag group or Daybreak, but she doubted it. Her two primary enemies were not usually killers, and this new force had slaughtered the Faunus extremists at every turn.

Looking up from her Tablet, Cinder took in her subordinates. Neo was calmly eating an ice cream cone, no surprise when she saw it was neopolitan flavor. Roman, seated next to the themed girl, had propped his feet up, leaned his chair on its back legs, and had placed his bowler hat over his face. Most likely trying to catch a couple of z's. Not that it mattered due to the list two of the group, who were, like always, arguing about this or that.

"Enough," Cinder commanded, absolute sultry athourity in her voice. The room went silent as all Ave her their attention, even Roman, who tilted his beloved hat up ever so slightly so that he could see her. "Neo, Mercury, Emerald... I have a job for you."

It mattered not in the end.

Cinder would help the Fang get their revenge for their fallen, and these newcomers would bow to her.

Or she would personally _break_ them.

* * *

 **And** **that's all, folks.**

 **What will the trio be doing for Cinder? How did Ruby's fight with Naruto go? Did Ozpin get a hold of Dreamer, Angel and Rain?**

 **We'll find out next time, on Daybreak Ball Z!**

 **But, yeah, I was very satisfied with this chapter. Let me know how you guys felt it went.**

 **Next upload will be the first chapter of the Stay With Me reboot.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Ja ne!**


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